Crow [jjk&kth]

[Prologue] Journey

Disclaimer:
The disease described in this story is fictional (as well as places, characters & everything else). I am not a doctor so it might happen that some things about the illness aren't plausible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 18, 2046
Gyo Ri, Korea

Taehyung-ssi,

I wish I was writing to you about happier matters. But unfortunately I sent you this letter to ask you to come to Gyo Ri, it's urgent. The situation here is a catastrophe and I'm afraid we don't have enough physicians to get the spreading of the disease under control.
I would never ask you to come to such a terrible place if I wasn't at my wits end. Please come to Gyo Ri and help me cure these people. Please share the burden of this incapable hyung.

Your long time friend and comrade
Kim Namjoon

Taehyung let his eyes sweep over the letter one more time. The handwriting was scrawly, looked like it had been written in a hurry with shaking hands.
It had arrived with the morning post and it took Taehyung until afternoon to pack his belongings and say goodbye to his family.
He didn't tell them where he was going, but they knew it was urgent. And seeing that Taehyung was a grown up man, they knew there was no stopping him.
However, it didn't make the farewell any easier, if anything they all secretly dreaded that he might never come back.

But Taehyung didn't have a choice. He had chosen this life when he had decided to become a doctor. And his strong sense of duty was the only thing that gave him the strength to leave his save, happy home and travel across the country to a crisis area for who knows how long.

*

He took the last train of the day.
Ever since the epidemic had broken out, technology had downgraded incredibly fast, especially transportation. The train he was on had a steam engine and wasn't nearly as fast as the trains back in the day when it was still affordable to charge a smartphone. But one of the few positives was that you could take your faithful horse with you.

Right now, Taehyung was sitting at the open back door of the last wagon (the one that was for animals and other big cargo) and stared at the scenery of the night while the wind tousled his dark hair. In the distance he could see the lights of a few barns or even a small village. Once in a while he could even make out the dark outline of the skyscrapers of a deserted city. All big cities across the country were deserted. It was still not save to go there, for the air was still polluted with the virus.

Taehyung remembered going to school in a city over a decade ago. He remembered riding an express train once, how fast it was. It took him wherever he wanted within hours.
Now it would take him three days to get to his destination.
The people who survived the epidemic now lived in towns or villages scattered across the country. The smaller ones were mostly free of the disease but the bigger a town got the higher was the risk that the virus would break out there.
One of the largest towns was Gyo Ri with its 15 000 citizens... at least that had been the number of citizens before the disease had broken out there.

Now the town was in danger of being wiped out completely. Too many sick people and only few physicians to cure them. Not only that, but if the situation didn't get under control soon, it would sure affect the rest of the country as well. The disease would spread once more and maybe that time would be the final stroke to kill all of humanity.

During the three days of travel, Taehyung had lots of time to think about what would await him in Gyo Ri and how he planned to survive it. Of course, staying healthy physically was one thing. But staying sane while tending to so many dying people was another issue. He needed to be mentally prepared. So he made up a few rules for himself.

That night on the train he noted down the first rule as he stared into the starry night. Taehyung knew himself well. He knew he got easily attached to people. To prevent that from happening he told himself, "don't get to know your patients on a personal level." Nothing good ever came from becoming friends with a patient, he would lose his objectivity, which was something that often lead to stupid decisions. Not to mention the heart ache he would feel when a person died that he knew well. It would only add to the burden.

The second rule came to his mind as he observed all the different people that passed him on his journey, asking each other for favors or reminding the other person of what they owe them. Taehyung could imagine only too well all the possible outcomes if he were to owe someone a favor. So he pulled out the piece of paper that already had rule number one on it and added: Don't do favors and don't accept any in return. Don't let anyone bribe you

Two days had now passed and as the young physician neared his destination on the morning of the third day he finally allowed the question at the back of his head to come forward.

What if I can't save any of them? What if they all....die?

It was his deepest fear. That he would arrive there and turn out to be completely useless, condemned to watch as so many people died.

The thought scared him so much that he pulled his horse to a stop. The carriage that was traveling along with him passed him and the coachman looked at him in confusion.
"Is something the matter?" the man asked without stopping the carriage.
"It's nothing, just admiring the view," Taehyung quickly replied.
"Don't be too long," the coachman called over his shoulder. He had packages to deliver and thus he drove on.

Taehyung waited until there was some distance between him and his travel companions. He took a deep breath and took in the vast fields that stretched before him. Wild flowers bloomed all around in the early summer air. He took another deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

"Just do your best," he told himself, "and if someone still dies, it won't be your fault ... it's the disease's fault."
He decided to write it down. His final rule.
Always remember that it's not your fault if a patient dies, you did your best, this is just how life works.

*

Soon the shapes of Gyo Ri could be seen in the distance. Cute little houses and streets lined by tall trees came into view and it looked almost peaceful to Taehyung. But then his gaze caught sight of the tents that had been built outside the town. It looked like a hundred of them.
Infected people got always treated in a secluded area under quarantine since the virus was highly contagious. Tents had been put up sporadically. Taehyung had expected to see this area. But he hadn't thought there would be so many!

He felt his spirit drop even lower when the wind carried the cries of the suffering to them. As if to emphasize what awaited them in Gyo Ri, they passed a whole field of graves that had been dug into the hard soil. Taehyung stopped his horse and sat off, put off his hat and pressed it against his chest as he entered the graveyard. Many of the graves were fresh, probably only a few days old, the mounds hadn't yet leveled with the ground.

Taehyung stopped at a family grave, reading the names and dates of birth and death. A mother, father and three children only a few weeks ago.
Not knowing what else to do in face of this overwhelming picture of death, he got down to his knees and prayed. He had never been the most religious, but right now the idea that all these people were now in a better place seemed comforting to him. So he prayed for their souls in heaven.

When Taehyung got up and returned to his horse, he was filled with determination. He was just one man but he would do everything he could to prevent more victims from dying of the disease.